Alleged blackmail behind A&M professor's suicide

Updated 8:40 am, Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Daniel Timothy Duplaisir of Metairie, La., is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on Tuesday on a charge of using a phone and the Internet to extort money from Aune.

Daniel Timothy Duplaisir of Metairie, La., is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on Tuesday on a charge of using a phone and the Internet to extort money from Aune.

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The charges, filed in Houston, clear up some of the mystery surrounding why James Arnt Aune, 59, who chaired the A&M's Department of Communication, committed suicide on Jan. 8.

The charges, filed in Houston, clear up some of the mystery surrounding why James Arnt Aune, 59, who chaired the A&M's Department of Communication, committed suicide on Jan. 8.

Alleged blackmail behind A&M professor's suicide

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A Louisiana man is accused of using an underage female relative to lure a Texas A&M University professor into a sexually explicit online relationship that ended with blackmail demands and the professor leaping to his death from atop a campus parking garage.

The charges, filed in Houston, clear up some of the mystery surrounding why James Arnt Aune, 59, who chaired the school's department of communication, committed suicide on Jan. 8.

Daniel Timothy Duplaisir of Metairie, La., is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Tuesday on a charge of using a phone and the Internet to extort money from Aune.

"Let me tell you (expletive) … you sick old (expletive) … I told you I was going to call the cops," Duplaisir told Aune in one of a series of text messages, according to the FBI.

Fake name, email

Duplaisir, 37, was charged in 2011 with aggravated incest and oral sexual battery in the alleged abuse of a female relative, who is not being named by the Houston Chronicle. The status of those charges is unclear.

The girl apparently told authorities that Duplaisir took nude photos and videos of her to use in the scam and kept a list with the names and numbers of men being extorted, according to an affidavit signed by FBI Special Agent Nikki Allen.

The girl, whose age is not specified in court filings, said she and Duplaisir created a site on MocoSpace.com, according to the FBI, which investigated the case with the assistance of Texas A&M police.

She used a fake name and the email address pretty_gurl985@yahoo.com to meet men, get their phone numbers, and send them pictures and video.

Duplaisir would then follow up by calling as an outraged father and demanding payment to cover the cost of counseling for his daughter.

Threatening texts

In his exchanges with the professor, Duplaisir claimed his daughter was especially vulnerable because she was transgender and he needed the money to pay for therapy. Federal agents said the relative is not transgender.

"It is very hard to help a teenage trans-gender child be accepted in life; to help her find a life worth living," said one of the text messages Duplaisir allegedly sent to Aune. "And you came in with your disgusting (talking)."

Duplaisir also accused the professor of sending the girl a photo of his penis. The texts from Duplaisir to Aune often were laced with obscenity and threats.

"If I do not hear from you I swear to God Almighty that the police in your place of employment, students ALL OVER THE INTERNET ... ALL OF THEM will be able to see your conversations, text, pictures you sent," states another text.

It continues: "And if by some miracle you get away with this I will use every chance I get to make sure every place or person associated with you knows and see what you have done. Last chance, you better make the right move."

Aune, according to the FBI affidavit, confessed to his wife in mid-December that he was being blackmailed as the result of a sexually explicit online relationship with a minor.

Duplaisir was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Houston and is in custody.

Final exchange

On the morning of Jan. 8, at 9:21 a.m., Duplaisir allegedly gave Aune three hours to come up with the money or "the calls start."

At 10:29 a.m. Aune replied: "Killing myself now. And u will be prosecuted for blackmail."

At 10:30, according to the FBI affidavit, he jumped to his death.

Campus police detective Donnie Ohana found a printout in Aune's office of four emails exchanged with the pretty_gurl email address. He also reviewed text messages and email on the iPhone Aune had with him when he died.

The alleged blackmail began on Dec. 20, when Duplaisir sent Aune a text in which he demanded $5,000 to pay for therapy, according to the affidavit.

Aune discusses the father's outrage in an email he sent to the pretty_gurl address.

"I sent him $1,000 and then promised more in January," Aune said. "I am (expletive) scared about this, and can't figure out how to come up with more money."

Investigators contend Aune paid money to Duplaisir through Green Dot Bank in California, which issues prepaid MasterCard and Visa credit cards. A surveillance camera at a Lowe's store in Louisiana allegedly shows Duplaisir using one of the cards Aune paid on to make a $114 purchase.

Aune's widow could not be reached for comment. Texas A&M University had no immediate reaction to the charges.

Aune had worked for the university since 1996 and was named head of the communication department in 2011.

The native of Minnesota had two sons and was recognized for being an outstanding educator, an author and a champion for underdogs.

"Jim always championed the causes of those with less power over those with more power," notes a farewell on the communication department's Web page. "We will all miss our heroic defender."

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